Finding Major Gift Prospects

Everyone knows someone who is capable of making a major gift. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard trustees and volunteers tell me they don’t know anyone capable of a gift of $25,000 or more. Images are conjured up of mansions, exotic sports cars, and lavish lifestyles. “I don’t run in those circles,” they tell me. But the truth is, most millionaires don’t either. Read on to learn how to find major gift prospects for your next capital campaign.

Defining the Major Gift

Major gifts are defined differently in terms of dollar range, but most will begin at the $10,000 or $25,000 level depending on the size of your organization and history of development activity. The purpose of a major gift, however, does not vary. A major gift is a one-time gift commitment to fund projects above and beyond operational support (even if pledge payments are spread over several years). Your prospect should be defined as someone who is capable of a major gift, connected to your organization, and sympathetic to your mission and work.

Identifying Donor Prospect Constituencies

Don’t limit your search to people on your mailing and donor list. Consider people who have the capacity to give at the level you seek and higher, and who you believe would be sympathetic to your mission and work.

Although many people may fund a project, they all have different motivating factors influencing their gift. Identify people in your community who have means and find out what they support and why. Could your organization be a match? In building your prospect list, consider:

• Your constituencies (alumni, patients, campers, etc.)
• People connected to your consistencies (parents, grandparents, children, etc.)
• People sympathetic to your mission and work (friends and soon to become friends)
• Local businesses and vendors
• Corporations
• Foundations

Your Sources of Information

Unfortunately, there is no top-secret black book with the names and addresses of all the best major gift prospects available. You’ll have to create your own. Look to the following people to help you in your search:

• Trustees
• Staff
• Current donors
• Volunteers
• Community leaders
• Your constituents

Outside Sources

In addition to these subjective resources, there are a variety of outside sources for information on individuals, corporations, and foundations. Many of these are free and easily accessible on the Internet. Search engines can often turn up good background information on a person. Corporations and foundations often have their own websites, with biographical information on their management, directors, or trustees. Some government websites are also good for research. First among these is the searchable Edgar database maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

There are also a number of paid services for research. Among these are Dun and Bradstreet, Lexus Nexis, and Standard & Poor’s. Prospect research is an industry unto itself.

Methods of Gathering Information

With suggestions from the sources presented above you will have a foundation for your prospect list. Augment your information with new details acquired through interviews, cultivation visits, and screening and rating sessions. A screening and rating session is when you convene a group of connected people to review your prospect list to gain new information and insights and to acquire additional names. Information gathered through the meeting must remain highly confidential. This must be made clear to the participants to gain the information you seek. Methods for gathering information include:

• Reviewing donor and mailing lists
• Interviewing trustees, staff, volunteers, community leaders, and constituents
• Holding screening and rating sessions
• Cultivation visits

Suggestions and Considerations

Here are some well-known and not-so-well-known suggestions to keep in mind when building or expanding your list of major gift prospects:

• Your best prospects are often current donors. Do not exclude anyone because they have “done so much for us already.” It is both presumptuous and foolish to make a giving decision for others. They give because they care. Let them decide what is reasonable.
• Ask your best donors who else might be capable of major gift support. Then, ask them to help open the door.
• Some of your best prospects are right in front of you. Don’t overlook your volunteers and staff members. Their hearts are with you and they, or their families, may have great resources to share if asked.
• Do not discount or disqualify anyone as a major gift prospect just because they are not connected to your organization. If they are sympathetic to your mission and work they might help if asked by the right person for the right opportunity.
• Categorize your prospects into a top 50, top 25, and top 5 list. Gather all the pertinent (and appropriate) information you can.
• Write out your objectives and plan, establish a timetable, and execute!

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